Schaffhausen and the Rheinfall

 Dear Friends, I am The Homesick Potter.

To suggest to two Canadians to visit the Rheinfall was a little foolhardy. Needless to say the Niagara Falls loom large in comparison. However if it was good enough for Goethe, it should satisfy two boys from Canada.

Some facts: The Rheinfall, the largest waterfall in Europe, has an impressive width of 492 feet and it makes its 82 foot drop in three dramatic leaps. As you follow the path, you have different viewpoints of the falls. At one point the water rushes underneath the platform you are standing on. This is not a good time to question engineering.

A crag, partially overgrown by bushes conjures up images of 19th-century landscape paintings.

In a letter to Schiller, Goethe writes on September 18th 1797, "Die Sonne kam hervor und verherrlichte das Schauspiel, zeigte einen Theil des Regenbogens und ließ mich das ganze Naturphänomen in seinem vollen Glanze sehen." (The sun appeared and glorified the spectacle before me, revealing part of a rainbow and allowed me to see the whole natural phenomenon in its full splendour).

Schaffhausen although small, has a beautiful city centre. The houses date back to the late Gothic, Baroque, and Rococo periods. Frescoes in pastel colours depict scenes from Babylonian and Greek legends. One of the city's jewels, Haus zum Ritter (Knight's House) was built in 1494. The original Renaissance frescoes were painted by Tobias Stimmer and praise the civil virtues. The frescoes were taken down in 1935 and are housed in the Museum zu Allerheiligen.

Haus zum Ritter

The city's other claim to fame is its copious oriel windows, which gave it its nickname Erkerstadt (city of oriel windows). It allowed the women a good view of the road without being seen themselves, and the merchants were able to demonstrate their wealth and good taste.

Depiction of an oriel window. 

Photo: Gerhard Pratt

All Saints (Munster zu Allerheiligen) offers a beautiful retreat from the city's bustle. The Benedictine abbey is mentioned as far back as 1049.

The cloister in the Romanesque - Gothic style is the largest in Switzerland.

 

 To quote the words of a dear friend,

 "I can go home now, happy".

Fasnacht in Basel

Dear Friends, I am The Homesick Potter,

Call it madness or the call of Fasnacht, but I did get up at 1 am after having slept only 3 hours to catch a special train that left at 2 am from Zurich to arrive in time for the "Morgestraich" at 4 am in Basel. The Basler Fasnacht is the largest carnival in Switzerland. It starts on a Monday morning after Ash Wednesday and lasts exactly 72 hours.

As I leave the station other trains arrive from the neighbouring cities and countries. A steady stream of people make their way to the city centre.

At exactly 4 am the city is plunged into complete blackout. Surrounded by people, young and old, enveloped by darkness, silence and anticipation. The signals are given by the drum majors for the "Morgestraich, vorwärts marsch!" (Morgestraich, forward march). Everything happens simultaneously,  Lanterns are lit and are now the only source of light, the Cliques march and play, and so begins Fasnacht 2014.

It is truly mad, weirdly wonderful and magical. Music surrounds you, masked musicians wearing lanterns march along the streets. The musicians seem to come from everywhere maneuvering their way  in a seemingly uncoordinated fashion. 

Each person wears a  mask and a head lantern (Kopflaterne). 

Each Clique has a parade lantern (Zuglaterne).

The masks, caricatures of odd, grotesque  faces, are made of papier-mâché,
 meticulously hand-painted. I love the attention to detail.

As soon as the sun is up, the cliques disperse but the piping and drumming continues. Everybody has a bit of a reprieve until the next parade which starts at 2 pm. A cozy place with a warm drink are in high demand since it is still nippy outside. I find a very crowded pub and try the obligatory flour soup (Mehlsuppe). I understand some are better than others, I am not sure if I will pursue the search for the perfect flour soup. 

I have lots of time on my hands until the beginning of the next parade and so do the participants. I meander around the city, bumping into various cliques, marching, breakfasting, gathering, celebrating. 

 Some take a confetti bath.  

I did mange to have a cat nap in the sun before the 2 pm parade. 

 And then it starts again,

 only louder,

wilder, 

bigger

  

more pipers

and smoking hot. 

When the clown leaves it's time to go. 

What an amazing day.